


Pre-Proposal

by Aki (Akiko_Natsuko)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bickering, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Hope, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16603991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Aki
Summary: “So, when is the wedding going to be?” It had been a joke, and he was unprepared for Keith suddenly freezing mid-step, practically rigid as he turned to look at Shiro with wide-eyes.





	Pre-Proposal

     Shiro watched with amusement as Keith was cut off mid-rant by Lance darting forward and kissing him, leaving his best-friend with a shell-shocked expression as the Blue Paladin pulled back with a grin before disappearing, escaping before Keith got the opportunity to continue scolding him. It certainly wasn’t the first time that Lance had used that tactic against Keith, but it’s effectiveness only seemed to be increasing over time. Not that Shiro was going to complain as it had significantly reduced the number of times he’d been forced to intervene and act as a buffer between the two. Something that made it hard for him to hide his grin when Keith turned to look at him, and he knew that he had failed when Keith’s eyes narrowed a second later. “Let’s just go practice,” Keith growled after a moment of staring at him, stalking past him with his nose in the air and Shiro bit his lip, trying not to chuckle as he fell in step behind Keith.

    He knew that the matter wasn’t finished, it never was when it came to the two of them, and not for the first time he wondered how the pair of them had come together in the first place, let alone how they made it work most of the time. Sure, he had been there, forced to endure the awkward circling around each other and the bickering that had been their attempts at flirting, but it didn’t mean that mean that he understood it. And the one time he had asked the others, Pidge had made a weird strangled noise before bolting from the room babbling about work she needed to finish, and Hunk had merely shrugged and handed him a space-cookie to try and told him that it was easier not to think about it.

    For now, though he waited patiently, knowing that Keith would talk to him eventually, content to watch him for now as he followed him towards the training room. He hoped they were going to get it over with before Keith had a blade in his hand, as he was a challenging opponent at the best of times, let alone when he was fuelling himself with excess irritation. However, it appeared as though the tension was easing away now, replaced by jerky movements as Keith began to gesture, seemingly arguing with himself as Shiro caught the odd muttered word here and there. It was something that Shiro had learned to watch for a long time ago. Because Keith had learnt to handle things by himself, and these moments when he was trying to do just that, were also the moments when his barriers were lowered, allowing Shiro to get a handle on what he was thinking and feeling before he could try and mask it again.

Shiro blinked.

     He had been expecting the usual irritation – it was never true anger these days, at least not when it came to Lance. However, while there were traces of that, whether it was aimed at the fact that Lance had refused to do extra practice which had sparked the argument in the first place, or how the Blue Paladin had managed to escape, it wasn’t the dominant emotion now that Keith was calming down. Instead, there was a hint of fear, of uncertainty, the emotions he usually associated with Keith being confronted with an unusual social situation, although it had appeared less often, probably because Lance was always there to act as a social buffer for his prickly boyfriend. It was also an emotion that Keith had never once shown around Lance, even when they’d been very close to fighting, he had never been this unsure of him.

Was it the kiss?

Or the fact that Shiro had witnessed it?

    Surely not, because Lance wasn’t shy about showing his affection. He would hug Keith as often as he could, and while he generally kept the kissing to a minimum around them after a lecture from Allura after he had managed to offend an ambassador whose race was very strict about such displays being private, he wasn’t bothered by them seeing it. And Keith… Keith had learnt to adapt, even if Lance’s sudden kisses still had the power to silence him. So, what was going on?

“I can’t believe he did that…” Keith’s grumpy voice drew him out of his thoughts, and he was startled to see that the other Paladin was no longer gesturing wildly and had actually slowed down to walk with him. His mask was sliding back into place now, hiding the emotions, but that was all right, Shiro had seen enough to work with.

“It worked though,” Shiro pointed out lightly. Keith had sounded grumpy, not angry, which meant that it was safe to tease. To poke at him just enough to let out the lingering tension, and he laughed outright when Keith growled. “It’s just a sign that he knows you,” he added placatingly, skirting around the ‘l’ word because while he was sure the pair of them were at that point, he knew better than anyone just how wary Keith was of that word. It had preluded too many disappointments, too many broken homes for Keith to trust it easily, and he hoped that Lance knew that too and didn’t push too hard or fast. Maybe he should talk to him at some point, but then again, Lance was shockingly perceptive considering how foolish he could act at times. He was probably more aware of it than Keith himself was, and Shiro couldn’t contain his smile. He might not understand how they worked, but he couldn’t help but be glad that they did.

“Yes, he does…” Keith admitted with a sigh, but there was a fond smile tugging at his lips, one that softened his features and made him look his age for once. It was an expression that Shiro could get used to seeing. However, as Keith’s expression took on a dreamy cast, Shiro couldn’t resist teasing him, remembering Keith’s clumsy attempts at teasing him over his crushes pre-Kerberos.

“So, when is the wedding going to be?” It had been a joke, and he was unprepared for Keith suddenly freezing mid-step, practically rigid as he turned to look at Shiro with wide-eyes.

“I-I…”

“Keith?” Shiro asked, unused to the sight of Keith being lost for words around him. That was something that was usually reserved for Lance and his romantic antics, and he came to a halt too, forgetting everything else in favour of studying the younger Paladin. There was a faint blush dusting Keith’s cheeks now, and he was shifting from foot to foot, the image of someone caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and Shiro felt his mouth drop open as he slowly connected the dots between his teasing, off-hand comment and Keith’s expression. “You’re planning on asking him?” He demanded, unable to keep the shock out of his voice.

“Is it stupid?” Keith whispered, sounding very much like the young teen that Shiro had first met, the one who hadn’t quite dared to believe that this new person in his life was there to stay.

“What?” Shiro barked, startled before he saw the fear in Keith’s eyes and realised that he was genuinely worried, the uncertainty from before suddenly making perfect sense and he immediately softened his words.  “No, of course not…” Perhaps in earthen terms things were moving a little fast between the two of them, but this wasn’t Earth, and they didn’t have the luxury of knowing that they had time. That they had a future. Every skirmish, every battle carried with it the risk of that future being snatched away. Sure, they were growing stronger and more skilled, but it wasn’t enough to guarantee anything.

And…

“Keith, you love him, don’t you?” He hasn’t wanted to say the word earlier, he was reluctant now, but he had to make sure. As expected Keith flinched at the world, curling in on himself for a moment, but he didn’t flee, and his expression remained unusually open as he stared at the ground for a moment before lifting his head, meeting Shiro’s gaze without hesitation. There was a fire in his eyes, not the kind born of anger or desperation, but one of hope…of love…and Shiro already knew the answer, even before Keith took a deep breath and nodded firmly.

“More than anything.”

“Then ask him,” Shiro replied, voice soft and certain, a smile tugging at his lips. He had always counted it as a blessing that Keith had opened up to him, and then to the rest of the team, but a tiny part of him had feared that his friend would never be able to let himself have something more. He didn’t understand why it was Lance, but right there, seeing Keith relaxing with his approval, he was glad that it was, and he closed the distance between them, reaching out to rest a hand on Keith’s shoulder, waiting for him to look up at him. “If you wanted my blessing, you have it.” He had a feeling that wasn’t Keith had been seeking, at least not deliberately, but the words seemed to help as he felt Keith melt under his hand, the earlier smile reappearing, although it still held a trace of uncertainty.

“Do you think he’ll say yes?”

“I think we both know the answer to that,” Shiro pointed out bluntly, knowing that question stemmed from nerves and nothing else. Nothing he had seen from Lance gave him the slightest doubt about how he was going to respond when Keith asked, and Shiro was already resigning himself to months of hearing about little else…from either of them, although he had a feeling that Lance would be the loudest about it. Keith was red again, but the uncertainty slipped away as he grinned at Shiro.

“Yeah…”


End file.
